Conspiracy Theory and Cognitive Style: a Worldview

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2015 Mar 13

PMID 25762969

Citations 33

Authors

Neil Dagnall

Kenneth Drinkwater

Andrew Parker

Andrew Denovan

Megan Parton

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This paper assessed whether belief in conspiracy theories was associated with a particularly cognitive style (worldview). The sample comprised 223 volunteers recruited via convenience sampling and included undergraduates, postgraduates, university employees, and alumni. Respondents completed measures assessing a range of cognitive-perceptual factors (schizotypy, delusional ideation, and hallucination proneness) and conspiratorial beliefs (general attitudes toward conspiracist thinking and endorsement of individual conspiracies). Positive symptoms of schizotypy, particularly the cognitive-perceptual factor, correlated positively with conspiracist beliefs. The best predictor of belief in conspiracies was delusional ideation. Consistent with the notion of a coherent conspiratorial mindset, scores across conspiracy measures correlated strongly. Whilst findings supported the view that belief in conspiracies, within the sub-clinical population, was associated with a delusional thinking style, cognitive-perceptual factors in combination accounted for only 32% of the variance.

Citing Articles

Populist attitudes and belief in conspiracy theories: anti-elitist attitudes and the preference for unrestricted popular sovereignty reduce the positive impact of an analytical thinking style on conspiracy beliefs.

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Paranormal belief, psychopathological symptoms, and well-being: Latent profile analysis and longitudinal assessment of relationships.

Drinkwater K, Denovan A, Dagnall N PLoS One. 2024; 19(3):e0297403.

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The Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale-5: further psychometric evaluation using a United Kingdom-based sample.

Dagnall N, Denovan A, Drinkwater K, Escola-Gascon A Front Psychol. 2023; 14:1303838.

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